Latest KFF Health News Stories
Texas and Florida Expand Medicaid
They were among 21 states required by Obamacare to broaden eligibility for school-age children.
Scrambling To Prove He’s Eligible For Obamacare
Fabrizio Mancinelli is among thousands of people in California facing a Sept. 30 deadline to prove they are in the country legally, as required to receive coverage through insurance exchanges.
New Insurance Coverage Gives Tech Entrepreneur A New Flexibility
Once deemed ‘uninsurable,’ a businesswoman suffering from a chronic condition now has coverage — and it’s not tied to a job or a boyfriend.
Debate Grows Over Employer Plans With No Hospital Benefits
Some insurance pros say the administration intended such coverage to meet Obamacare’s “minimum value” standard. Others disagree, and the government stays silent.
DEA: Vicodin, Some Other Pain Meds Will Be Harder to Get
The regulation, slated to take effect Oct. 6, is a response to the widespread misuse of these prescription medicines.
Administration Says Hospitals Will Save $5.7B From Unpaid Bills Due To Health Law
About three-quarters of the savings will go to hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid.
Insurance Brokers Key To Kentucky’s Obamacare Success
More than 40 percent of the people who signed up for insurance on Kynect, Kentucky’s exchange, used an insurance broker.
Number Of Marketplace Insurers To Rise 25 Percent, HHS Says
More companies will likely mean more competition and lower prices for consumers, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Tuesday.
Insurers Hesitant To Cover Many Proton Beam Therapy Treatments
Supporters of the controversial — and high-priced — therapy say more routine coverage would help propel necessary research.
A Single Insurer Holds Obamacare Fate In Two States
Where did the insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act struggle the most? The answer lies in commerce, not politics.
Miami-Dade County, Like Many Employers, Denied Tools To Trim Health Costs
As the Florida county negotiates health insurance changes with labor unions, it isn’t allowed to know the prices its own insurance plan administrator negotiates with providers, even though it’s self-insured and the claims are paid with taxpayer dollars.
For Autistic Adults, Coverage Options Are Scarce
Although efforts by the federal and state governments are forcing insurers to cover costly treatments, patients who turn 21 “fall off a cliff.”
How Much Does That X-Ray Cost? You Can Find Out In New Hampshire
Price transparency efforts in the Granite State help consumers and employers ask smarter questions.
Rise Of Catholic Insurance Plans Raises Questions About Contraceptive Coverage
Insurers try to avoid conflict with church positions on contraception by using third parties to provide coverage.
Health Law Tempers New State Coverage Mandates
Provisions in the Affordable Care Act seek to curb individual states from setting new mandates requiring insurers to cover specific care but many local legislators are trying to work around that.
Patients Take On More Health Care Costs But Struggle To Find Prices
The price a consumer pays for a medical procedure can vary significantly — often with little difference in quality.
In South Florida And The Nation, Health Care Costs Often Are Shrouded In Secrecy
Like many employers across the country, Miami-Dade County isn’t allowed to know the prices its own insurance administrators negotiate with healthcare providers, even though the county is self-insured and workers’ claims are paid with taxpayer dollars.
Health Care Prices: Many Moving Parts Veiled By Confidentiality Agreements
Unlike Medicare, private insurers do not publish their payments, and experts say the prices they pay hospitals for the same procedure vary widely.
Flaw In Federal Software Lets Employers Offer Plans Without Hospital Benefits, Consultants Say
Problems with a government calculator that companies use to prove that their insurance meets health law standards could allow substandard policies, consumer advocates say.
Census Bureau: Health Costs Inch Up As Obamacare Kicks In
Health and social spending as measured by the Census Bureau grew by only 3.7 percent from the second quarter of 2013 to the same quarter of 2014.
